In 1862, the real Mary Phinney did in fact arrive in Alexandria and was assigned as a nurse to the Mansion House Hospital as is portrayed in the series. In real life, the Green family did leave the Carlyle House as their hotel was occupied, but they stayed in Alexandria at another home they owned nearby. In the series, the Green family refuses to leave the Mansion House, their home, which is separate from the hospital but right in the thick of the action. The hotel became the largest military hospital in Alexandria, which is where the PBS series Mercy Street begins in 1862. Then, in 1861, the Mansion House Hotel was expropriated by Federal troops for Army use during the Civil War. Stanton for Visit Alexandria The Carlyle House in the Civil War The Mansion House Hotel was the largest hotel in Alexandria and slept over 500. The Mansion House Hotel was so successful, James Green expanded it with a large, four-story addition across the front lawn of the Carlyle House in 1855, removing the home from public view on Fairfax Street. In real life, James and Jane Green had nine children in total. These real people are all depicted as fictionalized characters in the show, with an additional daughter played by AnnaSophia Robb. James Green lived in the Carlyle House next door with his wife, Jane (played by Donna Murphy), his daughter Emma (Hannah James), and his son, James Jr. The Green Familyīy 1849, just one year after purchasing the property, James Green had transformed the Bank of Alexandria building (which closed and failed in 1834) into a luxurious hotel: The Mansion House Hotel. It wasn’t just a mansion, it was the mansion in Alexandria. The home is widely known as “The Mansion House” given its size and grandiosity. It wasn’t until 1848, almost a century after the Carlyle House was originally built, that James Green (played by Gary Cole in ‘Mercy Street’), the wealthy owner of a furniture company, buys the property from a man who had been leasing it. Fairfax Streets, where the same building still stands. In that period of time, around 1807, the Bank of Alexandria was built on the corner of Cameron and N. After John Carlyle’s death, the property was passed down to his relatives for several years until it was eventually sold to pay off debts. Lee St.) and built a luxurious home that looks as it does today, finished in 1752. He purchased two plots of waterfront property (yes, you read that correctly, the Potomac River was filled in in the 1790’s, creating room for present-day N. When Alexandria was founded in 1749, John Carlyle was an original trustee of the city and was considered a leading citizen. Why is it Called The Carlyle House and The Mansion House? Indeed, a recent news story says of series creator Lisa Wolfinger, “When her research discovered Carlyle House in Alexandria and the Civil War hospital that once perched next door, she knew that was the place.” Although Mercy Street is a fictional show, it is based on real events and places in Alexandria, and fans of the show can explore these people and their stories at the Carlyle House, which today stands as a museum and park. It was the real people and events that took place in the Carlyle House and the adjacent Mansion House Hospital during the Civil War that inspired the stories and characters of Mercy Street, including the Green family and Nurse Mary Phinney. In real life, the idea for Mercy Street also began with the Mansion House, today known as the Carlyle House. Jed Foster (Josh Radnor) work together treating Union and Confederate soldiers in the first episode. The Mansion House Hospital, already transformed from the hotel when the show begins, is where we see Nurse Mary Phinney (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Dr. In the premier episode of PBS’ Mercy Street season one, the bulk of the action takes place on the Green family property, including their home, called “the Mansion House,” and their hotel, which was expropriated by Federal troops for use as a Union hospital during the Civil War.
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